FETAL AND NEONATAL CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Pre-term delivery occurs in 12% of live births (470,000 infants) in the United States each year, is a major cause of infant mortality and morbidity, and is associated with health care costs of more than $2 billion annually. Much of this mortality and long-term morbidity results from perinatal disturbances in cerebral perfusion and metabolism. Whereas strategies for clinical management of surviving pre-term infants have gradually reduced cerebrovascular morbidity in recent years, major improvements in clinical management of adult cerebrovascular pathologies have been slow to reach and influence studies of the neonatal cerebral injury. Similarly, recent advances in understanding of fundamental mechanisms of cardiovascular, immunological, and endocrine homeostasis in the developing fetus have also been slow to find an audience among practicing neonatologists, particularly where at-risk pre-term infants are concerned. These limited rates of idea transfer between disciplines are natural consequences of extensive specialization and narrowed focus secondary to expanding clinical responsibilities for many neonatologists. Accordingly, the proposed conference has been designed to bring together investigators interested mainly in neonatal cerebrovascular pathophysiology, with scientists focusing mainly on studies of adult cerebrovascular regulation, and scientists whose expertise centers on cardiovascular, immunological, and endocrine regulation in the developing fetus. To that end, a joint meeting of the Perinatal Cerebral Hypoxia-lschemia Society, the Society for Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, and the Fetal and Neonatal Physiology Society has been organized. This large meeting will involve more than 1000 abstracts and presentations, among which support is requested for one symposium (Hypoxic-lschemic Damage in Developing White Matter) and three keynote lectures: Perinatal Brain Development: A Historical Overview; Fetal Cardiovascular Development; and New Concepts in Fetal Endocrinology. The setting for this conference is in Calgary, Canada, which will provide a beautiful and relaxing atmosphere replete with all the amenities and easy accessibility of a major cosmopolitan center. The organizers enthusiastically anticipate that this unique joint meeting will offer an unprecedented opportunity for an inter-disciplinary exchange of ideas related to fetal cerebrovascular regulation and pathophysiology.